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Edamame is a good thing. It's one of my favorite parts of going out for sushi. And, it's one of the few things you can replicate in your own home with much success!

At some point on a grocery shopping trip, I made the mistake of purchasing already shelled edamame. I vastly prefer it with the shell on, for preparing at home. So, I have had this random bag of shelled edamame rolling around in my freezer for a long time. I decided now is the time for figuring out what to do with this unwanted veggie.

This recipe is loosely based on a recipe from Ted Allen's book In My Kitchen. I really like this cookbook. It has a great balance of easy and fussy, and everything I've tried so far has come out beautifully.

Ted's recipe called for fresh ricotta, and I didn't have it. So I opened up the icebox and started dragging things out that needed to be used up. It's amazing the weird things you can find when you start looking in your icebox. I found a sad littl…

We love chili around here. I crave it whenever the weather outside gets overcast and cold.

The recipe I normally use, I got from my friend Diane years ago.

I like it because it's simple. I brown a pound of whatever ground meat I have around (my favorite is turkey or chicken) with a chopped onion. When the meat is done, I dump in a can of hot chili beans and a can of either Rotel tomatoes, or just plain canned tomatoes. I can make it feed more people by adjusting the number of cans of beans and tomatoes. Then I just let it fester on the stove for however long I can stand to smell it and not dive in!

If I had one criticism of the recipe, it would be the thickness. Sometimes I add a cornstarch slurry after it simmers for a while in order to tighten it up a bit. I have also used equal parts flour and butter. Both thickening methods work fine.

I was wandering around on Pinterest a few days ago, and I came across a blog entry on one of my favorite blogs, "Food Pusher&quot…

It was a snowy day here in Colorado. I'm fine with that, as long as I don't have to run around in it. It was the kind of day that makes me want to bake. And make chili. So I did both.

These scallions are outrageously good.

I followed the recipe exactly, except I ended up having to add way more buttermilk to get the dough to come together.

I am planning on serving these babies with a big bowl of chili. I found both of the recipes on Pinterest, so if the chili comes out edible, I'll post it here. But for now, just feast your eyes on these beautiful scones.

I bet these would be good with any combination of ingredients... bleu cheese and proscuitto, pancetta and feta... you name it. Maybe even cheddar and chorizo. This is making me really hungry.

I found this recipe on a blog called "Love to Cook." This is the first recipe I've tried from this site. But I'm really impressed with this first project. After dinner, I'm planning to curl up on the…

So, my niece Taylor is having a baby soon. I decided I would knit a blanket for the new baby.

When I was a kid, my father's mother was the fiber arts person in the family. She crocheted afghans for all the kids, and cross stitched birth announcements, etc. Nana past away several years ago. I started thinking about the kids who will be born in the family in the future. Who would make heirlooms for them?

I figured, even though I'm not nearly as talented as my grandmother (actually, both of my grandmothers crocheted), I can knit, so I should pick up the mantle and continue the tradition.

I started this project a while back. I am shocked I actually finished it before the baby is born. I kinda figured I'd give it to the baby when she graduated from high school. :)

It came out very nicely, but the yarn I used was awful. It's called Baby's First by Lion Brand. It is really thick, but the strands come apart and break easily. I think I'll send this one to be …

This stuff is amazing! Most people who know me, know I really don't like oatmeal. My preferred delivery platform for it is cookies. Unfortunately for me, my husband loves it. I make it for him every weekday morning. Then I make something different for me.

When I saw this recipe, I got excited. I was hopeful that this might be the magic recipe that makes oatmeal palatable to me.

I was right! This is so good, and it is pretty flexible, as well. You could add anything to it that you normally throw in your bowl of morning oatmeal.

The recipe is here. It's from a blog called "Food Pusher." I love this blog. When I read it, I always come away hungry. I've made several recipes from here, and they've all been very successful.

So, now all I have to do is figure out a way to replace the oil in this recipe with something slightly more healthy. Coconut oil, perhaps? When I figure something out that doesn't compromise the quality of the recipe, I'll…

I have found I really enjoy small batch canning. I don't have the room (or the budget) for large batches of things- plus I get tired of things before I finish a huge jar.

A while back a purchased a book entitled Preserving By the Pint by Marisa McClellan. When it arrived, I immediately read through it and marked this recipe.

I bought pears at the store this week specifically to use in this recipe.

I was a bit disappointed with the finished product. The chocolate flavor was not present enough, and the pears were still too structured for me. When I was reflecting over the process of making it, I decided that I would give it another try, substituting real chocolate for the cocoa powder called for in the book, and adding cinnamon. I also thought it would be better if I used an immersion blender to break the fruit up a little better.

Imagine my surprise, when I was looking to see if the recipe was published on the internet, (I always check, because if I got the recipe from a book…